After dinner, Maahi and Parth returned to Nikita's house as that is where Parth's car was. Nikita at once crinkled her nose and passed a comment. "You both stink."

"Paintball." Maahi offered an explanation as they smelled like colors even though there wasn't any physically on them. She tried to give her friend a hug who backed up.

"Ew, no. Don't hug me. Go shower first. How did you two go around the entire day smelling like that?"

Maahi shared a confused gaze with Parth. "I didn't think it was noticeable."

Parth sided with her, "It isn't to me."

Nikita rolled her eyes, "Duh, he's not going to tell you that you stink. That's offensive."

Maahi scoffed and walked inside the place to greet Blake with a hug. Then, she made a point to tease Nikita. "See, your husband is much nicer than you."

"Not my fault I have a heightened sense!" Nikita defended her nose even though it wasn't a big deal. She simply did not like her best friend complimenting her husband over her.

Maahi groaned, "Gosh, if it bothers you that much, I'll just leave. I only came to drop Parth anyway."

Nikita narrowed her eyes, placing her fists on her hips. "Are you saying you're not interested in hanging out with me?"

Maahi gave her a full on forced grin with a glare in her eyes, "That is exactly what I am saying."

Offside, Parth meekly asked for advice from Blake, "Do I want to get in the middle of this?"

Blake shook his head in a negative, "You definitely do not."

Nikita bickered back, "Whatever, I'm not dying to hang out with you either."

Maahi's lips parted to snap back with something meaningless when she took a second to register her words. At second glance, she gaped. "You're hiding something from me!"

"What? No, I'm not." She tried to deny it.

Maahi stepped up with her arms crossed over her chest. "Don't lie, Nicky. You only pick a useless fight with me when there's major news to share and you're trying to delay that. Now out with it."

"Oh shut up, stop psychoanalyzing me all the time. There is no major news to share."

Maahi reiterated in all seriousness, "I'm not psychoanalyzing. I'm stating an observed fact from past experiences."

Nikita glared at her for the longest before she dropped the façade, grabbed her friends' hand and pulled her towards her bedroom while announcing to the men, "Excuse us." As soon as they were inside and the door was shut, she expressed her freak out. "I'm late."

"I need a context to work with, Nikita."

Nikita slumped at the edge of the bed. "I'm late, Maahi!"

Maahi's eyes widened as she registered the meaning. She walked over and asked in hushed urgency, "That's good news! Have you told Blake?"

Nikita pointed out, "I'm telling it to you in here instead of outside. What does that tell you?"

"Right." She realized it was a silly question. On a serious note, she asked. "Okay, please explain why you're freaking out?"

"Because I don't want to get his hopes up. I could be late due to stress or something, right?"

Maahi, however, read the undertone. "You're worried he doesn't want a baby right now? Oh dear, he loves you! If you think he's going to flip out and get scared, you couldn't be more wrong."

Nikita sighed, "I know, I know. I'm just... I don't know if we're ready for that. It's not like this was planned."

Maahi gently squeezed her hand in support, "Let's take this a step at a time. Okay? We can go to a doctor tomorrow, get a report to confirm, and then we worry about the rest."

Nikita breathed out and nodded, letting her friend convince her. "Thanks, dear. You're the best friend anyone could ask for."

She smiled, "Your welcome."

"You still stink."

Maahi rolled her eyes, bumping their shoulders. "And you're a bitch. But I love you, so get over it."

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When Maahi and Nikita returned to the living room, Parth asked. "All okay?"

Maahi answered taking a seat on the opposite couch, "Yup. Change of plans though. I can't hang out with you tomorrow. Sorry."

Parth gaped in a teasing manner, "Day one and you're already ditching your boyfriend for his sister? Not fair."

While Maahi rolled her eyes, Blake laughed. "Your sister has ditched her husband for her friend many a times. Welcome to the team."

Nikita interjected before Parth could respond, "Wait, wait. So you two are together now? When was I going to be told?" She had directed the later question sizing up Maahi for she expected her to be the one to tell her.

Maahi said hoping for Nikita to go easy on her, "Uh, you are the first to know... after us, that is. If that helps?"

Nikita walked up to Maahi with a hug. "Ugh, fine. But only because I am more happy than offended." Then she moved back with a scrunched nose. "Okay, seriously. You stink. Please go shower or get out of my house."

Maahi gaped at her, wanting to call her friend colorful words but refrained - just in case she really was pregnant. Thus, she settled on muttering, "Just you wait."

When she stood up, Parth questioned. "What, you are leaving already? Nick, stop being mean to my girlfriend." He couldn't say the word enough before he'd get used to calling her that. He didn't think he would ever get tired of saying it either.

Maahi chuckled, putting him at ease. "Gee, relax. I'm not so easily offended. I'm just going for a quick shower." She turned to Nikita and added, "Get me something to change into?"

Since Nikita was the one making her shower, she gladly stood up to grab an outfit from her closet.

Minutes later, she knocked on the bathroom door in the guest room to inform Maahi she was leaving the change of clothes on the bed.

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Parth opened the door to the room to put his phone in charging since he was going to be staying the night here. Just after he had plugged it in by the bed, the door to the washroom opened and oblivious that he was in the room, she stepped out ruffling her hair with her fingertips.

He meant to mark his presence, but he lost himself in her beauty. She was in her own world too; eyes closed, and head slightly tipped. He knew he should look away, but he couldn't. He was in a trance as his feet carried him towards her. Just when he was an inch away from her, she turned with the intention to walk towards the bed only to crash into him.

His arms wound up around her waist to stop her from stumbling back. Her eyes snapped open and widened seeing him. This was no movie or a television drama where everything around her would just stop for a moment, giving her the chance of getting lost in his eyes. Her first thought in her brain was her lack of clothing and she scrabbled at once.

Placing a hand on his bicep, she got hold of her footing and took a small step back to stand on her own. Her other hand rested over her chest, holding the top of her towel in place.

"What - what are you doing here?" she asked, a bit rattled by his sudden presence and her lack of clothing.

He answered in a low, husky voice, still in a daze. "I thought you'd still be in the shower."

She glanced into his dilated pupils and felt even more conscious than before. It wasn't that she felt shy. Being in front of a guy in a towel wasn't a new concept to her either. It was just that it was the first time she was in this situation with him and for a moment, she didn't know how to behave. She didn't have the calm composure and maturity she would otherwise possess in uncertain situations.

When she took another step away to put distance between them, his hands dropped from her sides. At the loss of her, he blinked out of his thoughts. He lifted a hand to tuck a wet strand of hair away which seemed to be teasing her cheek. Maahi lifted her gaze to his again and with a gentle smile, he spoke again. "I'm sorry. I'll leave."

With one last look at her, he walked around her.

Maahi suddenly asking herself. Why was she being awkward? He hadn't done or said anything indecent. Whirling around, she grabbed his wrist to stop him. His head turned back to her with confusion written all over his face.

She surprised him further when she too walked around to stand directly in front of him again and went on wrap her arms around his torso in a hug. Unable to understand her, he asked while placing a lose hand on her upper back. "Maahi?"

She lifted her head to glance up at him but remained standing close to him. "With everything that happened in the morning, I didn't get the chance to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

She answered simply with a contagious smile on her lips, "I missed you." Taking a moment to feel how she had felt on seeing him unexpectedly at her doorstep, she had to tell him what it meant to her. She moved her arms to wrap them around his shoulders when adding, "Today has been beyond anything I would have ever imagined. Thank you, you know? For caring enough to drive over and check on me. Not many people would do that."

His hand felt rather large when he placed it over her neck, his thumb nuzzling her cheek bone as he looked down on her affectionately. "Maahi, I don't want to scare you away by saying this... and it may sound corny, but I would go to the ends of the Earth to make sure you were okay."

As it often did, his honesty reflecting in his words captured her beating heart. She would be a fool to question that, or get scared by his intense emotions because was she not on the same boat as him?

When words failed her in a response, she reacted with an action. Reaching up on her toes, she closed the distance between their lips. Grasping her emotions, he kissed her back just as well, pouring his own feelings in the mix and protectively wrapping his arms around her.

Kissing her always felt as if it was with all of his soul. As if it was with an untouched corner in his heart that was reserved just for her. That had been waiting for her his whole life. A part of him which knew that she was it for him. Even their very first time they had accidentally kissed, he had known. There would be no one else for him in his life. Wasn't it why even in the past years when they hadn't once met again, he had lost his interest in dating others?

He knew what he was waiting for. This, right here... what he felt in this moment with her was going to be the start to his happy ending.

Parting for air, he rested his forehead against hers. His hold around her loosened and she scrabbled once again to hold her towel in place. Opening his eyes, a chuckle escaped his throat. He teased while caressing her cheek with a light brush of his thumb, "Better you change before things heat up again."

With a blush forming on her cheeks, she used her free hand to nudge his chest back as if in a slight scolding. Exhaling a sigh to control his impulse of pulling her back flush against his body, he forced himself to leave the room. There were many temptations of kissing away the water droplets on her shoulders and collarbone from her washed hair. The seductive image that it made for him.

But, no. He could not. It wasn't the time or place to lose control and get carried away.

Exiting the room, he closed his eyes shut. It was pure torture of his brain to conjure up those images.

His eyes flew open at the sound of a throat clearing. Nikita was standing in the kitchen with her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes filled with mischief. "Took you long enough."

He groaned, walking in to grab a glass. "Don't even go there." He warned her while filling up the glass with water and gulping it down afterwards as if a man quenching his thirst after ages.

She whined, "Why not? You used to tease the life out of me when Blake and I first started dating."

"Because we were children then," he muttered in his defense though Nikita was right. She was allowed her revenge on her twin brother.

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When it started to near 11 at night, she thought it was time for her to leave. Blake pointed out logically, "C'mon, just stay the night. It makes no sense for you to go to your place only to come back in the morning."

Nikita grabbed the opportunity to add, "Exactly. We can stay up the night, watch movies. It'll be fun."

Maahi wanted to protest, saying it was unnecessary for everyone to stay up when she noticed Nikita was not trying to get her to stay to play matchmaker between her and Parth - to give them maximum time together, but she actually looked nervous. She was sure it was about tomorrow. So, for her friend, she gave in. "Fine, but don't complain tomorrow when I doze off."

Maahi never could pull all-nighters - especially when watching movies. Eventually, she would always fall asleep.

Nikita squealed like a child, jumping up from the couch where she seated cuddled up to her husband. "I'll make us some popcorn!"

Blake laughed at her, telling them to sit while he went to their room to grab a laptop. Maahi put her keys in her purse and sat back down.

Parth asked in confirmation, "You're fine with staying?"

She answered carefree, "Yeah, sure. It won't be the first time I'm staying over at Nikki's. And this time, I won't even be a third wheel so even better."

He commented with a grin on his face as she dismissed his worries within a second, "You amaze me sometimes."

Nikita yelled over from the kitchen, "Blake, get the blankets too!"

Just then, Blake returned holding just that along with the laptop. "I know, honey." He answered while handing one over to Maahi. He knew their routine. The three of them had known each other since college days, after all. Roughly 7 years of friendship is no less than a milestone.

Plus, Maahi had always admired the tuning the two of them had. Before one even mentioned it, the other would have already thought of it. She knew the way of achieving it was years of practice. She quite looked forward to having the same with Parth one day.

If anything today had taught her, it was that they had a lot to work on to understand each other. It was proving difficult to achieve given they didn't see each other on a regular base. It was one of the setbacks Nikita had warned her about. Going in a long distance relationship is easier to handle when you know the person for some time before it happens. But going into it without first establishing a normal relationship is tougher.

Still, Maahi was determined and it this weekend's trip was any proof, Parth was too. She told herself she had nothing to worry about. They just had to stick through the tough phase and things would get easier before they would realize.

Blake connected his laptop to the TV screen via HDMI wire and while Nikita returned with two tubs of popcorn, Maahi settled back comfortably in Parth's side. And he welcomed it, certainly not one to complain. He was learning that about her: she wasn't one to take too long in adjusting to new environments.

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【 Author Note 】

Please read the important note posted before this chapter as a separate post! Thank you!

A bit of a fluff chapter, but just something laidback. Comment your thoughts below!